Minden is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Adams Central is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Whippets will host the Patriots at 12:55 p.m. on Saturday. Adams Central took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Minden, who comes in off a win.
On Wednesday, Minden beat Fairbury 3-1.
Minden had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 18-25, 25-19, 26-24, 25-15.
Minden can attribute much of their success to Makenna Anderson, who had 16 digs and five assists. That's the most assists Anderson has posted since back in September.
Minden was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 11 aces. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their ace total in three consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, after a string of three wins, Adams Central's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They fell just short of Fairbury by a score of 3-2.
Minden will need to focus on slowing down Abigail Paradies, one of several Adams Central players who made an impact when they last played. She had 11 digs and seven aces. Brynn Smith was another key player, getting 31 assists and four digs.
Minden's victory bumped their record up to 25-8. As for Adams Central, their loss dropped their record down to 23-9.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's contest: Minden has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 5.8 aces per game. However, it's not like Adams Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.1 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Minden skirted past Adams Central 2-1 in their previous matchup back in August. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Paradies, who had 27 digs and two aces. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Whippets still be able to contain Paradies? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
